The Saupiquet des Amognes is one of Burgundy’s most distinctive and least-known dishes—thick slices of ham (jambon blanc or jambon de Morvan) served in a piquant cream sauce sharpened with vinegar, tomato, white wine, juniper, and shallots. The dish takes its name from the Amognes, a rural area south of Nevers in the Nièvre, and its ancestry from the medieval saupiquet (literally ‘salt and piquant’), a category of sharp, vinegar-based sauces that predates the French classical repertoire. The preparation begins with thick slices (1cm) of unsmoked cooked ham, browned lightly in butter until the edges caramelise. The ham is set aside and the pan is used to build the sauce: finely diced shallots are sweated in the butter, deglazed with 150ml white wine vinegar (reduced by three-quarters for concentration without harshness), then 200ml white Burgundy is added and reduced by half. Crushed tomatoes (200g), juniper berries (6, lightly crushed), a sprig of tarragon, and 200ml crème fraîche are stirred in, and the sauce simmers for 10 minutes until it reaches a coating consistency. The browned ham slices are returned to the sauce, warmed through for 5 minutes, and served immediately. The finished dish should be a balance of four elements: the cream’s richness, the vinegar’s sharpness, the juniper’s aromatic bite, and the ham’s savoury sweetness. It is served with steamed potatoes or fresh pasta to absorb the generous, piquant sauce.
Reduce the vinegar by three-quarters before adding wine—raw vinegar in the finished sauce is unpleasant. Brown the ham for flavour development before building the sauce. Crush the juniper berries lightly to release their essential oil without fragmenting. Balance cream against vinegar—the sauce should be simultaneously rich and sharp. Warm the ham in the sauce gently—do not boil or the ham toughens.
Use jambon de Morvan if available—this dry-cured ham from the Burgundian highlands has the depth of flavour this rustic sauce demands. For a more refined presentation, slice the ham into thick batons instead of flat slices—they absorb more sauce and present more elegantly. Add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the sauce just before returning the ham—the mustard binds the cream and vinegar while adding characteristic Burgundian pungency. This dish is relatively unknown outside Burgundy but appears on the menus of the best auberges in the Nièvre and Morvan—it is one of the region’s hidden treasures.
Not reducing the vinegar sufficiently, producing an aggressively sour sauce. Using smoked ham, whose flavour overwhelms the sauce’s delicate balance. Adding cream before the vinegar reduction is complete, which curdles. Using too much juniper, which makes the sauce taste of gin. Cooking the ham too aggressively in the sauce, which toughens the pre-cooked meat.
La Cuisine Bourguignonne — Pierre Huguenin